The borderlands of science : where sense meets nonsense

"As author of the bestselling Why People Believe Weird Things and How We Believe, and Editor-In-Chief of Skeptic magazine, Michael Shermer has emerged as the nation's number one scourge of superstition and bad science. Now, in The Borderlands of Science, he takes us to the place where real science (such as the big bang theory), borderland science (superstring theory), and just plain nonsense (Big Foot) collide with one another."--Jacket.Meer lezen...

The knowledge filter : reality must take precedence in the search for truth --
Theories of everything : nonsense in the name of science --
Only God can do that? : cloning tests the moral borderlands of science --
Blood, sweat, and fears : racial differences and what they really mean --
The paradox of the paradigm : punctuated equilibrium and the nature of revolutionary science --
The day the earth moved : Copernicus's heresy and Sulloway's theory --
Heretic-personality : Alfred Russel Wallace and the nature of borderlands science --
A scientist among the spiritualists : crossing the boundary from science to pseudoscience --
Pedestals and statues : Freud, Darwin, and the hero-myth in science --
The exquisite balance : Carl Sagan and the difference between orthodoxy and heresy in science --
The Beautiful People Myth : why the grass is always greener in the other century --
The Amadeus Myth : Mozart and the myth of the miracle of genius --
A gentlemanly arrangement : science at its best in the great evolution priority dispute --
The great bone hoax : Piltdown and the self-correcting nature of science.

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The author takes us to the place where real science, borderland science, and just plain nonsense collide with one another, in order to enable us to tell where valid science leaves off and borderland science begins. A range of topics are discussed, including Darwin, Freud, and the Big Bang theory.Meer lezen...

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"Quick-witted, shrewd, open-minded--these barely describe Michael Shermer's latest confection of intriguing stories, arguments, and insightful observations. His cruise through the shadowlands of science makes a fascinating expedition of the mind."--Gregory Benford, author of Deep Time"With his awesome wit and wisdom, Michael Shermer tackles a fantastic range of important questions. No one else does science writing better than Shermer. The Borderlands of Science is sure to be an instant classic."--Clifford A. Pickover, author of Wonders of Numbers"Whether the issue is alternative medicine or environmental threats, cloning or race, cosmology or hypnosis, Shermer keeps his focus on the central question: Where do we draw the line between solid science, pseudoscience, and the untamed territory in between? This is a detailed, multi-faceted exploration of these ever-shifting borderlands, as well as the fascinating people who populate them."--K.C. Cole, author of The Hole in the Universe: How Scientists Peered Over the Edge of Emptiness and Found EverythingMeer lezen...

"The knowledge filter : reality must take precedence in the search for truth -- Theories of everything : nonsense in the name of science -- Only God can do that? : cloning tests the moral borderlands of science -- Blood, sweat, and fears : racial differences and what they really mean -- The paradox of the paradigm : punctuated equilibrium and the nature of revolutionary science -- The day the earth moved : Copernicus's heresy and Sulloway's theory -- Heretic-personality : Alfred Russel Wallace and the nature of borderlands science -- A scientist among the spiritualists : crossing the boundary from science to pseudoscience -- Pedestals and statues : Freud, Darwin, and the hero-myth in science -- The exquisite balance : Carl Sagan and the difference between orthodoxy and heresy in science -- The Beautiful People Myth : why the grass is always greener in the other century -- The Amadeus Myth : Mozart and the myth of the miracle of genius -- A gentlemanly arrangement : science at its best in the great evolution priority dispute -- The great bone hoax : Piltdown and the self-correcting nature of science."@en

""As author of the bestselling Why People Believe Weird Things and How We Believe, and Editor-In-Chief of Skeptic magazine, Michael Shermer has emerged as the nation's number one scourge of superstition and bad science. Now, in The Borderlands of Science, he takes us to the place where real science (such as the big bang theory), borderland science (superstring theory), and just plain nonsense (Big Foot) collide with one another."--Jacket."